National Hematology/Oncology Nurses Day - September 8

Thank you Camalyn, and all your colleagues, for all the great work you do. Join us September 8 as we celebrate National Hematology/Oncology Nurses Day!

Camalyn Rose is a nurse in the Hematology/Oncology Unit at the Glen.

What led you to become a hematology/oncology nurse?         

I finished a psychology degree when I was 25 and wasn’t sure what my next step should be. I started volunteering at St-Mary’s Hospital to feel useful. Ironically, in their Cancer Care Day Clinic. The nurses I met and worked with inspired me. And they told me I should consider joining the profession. It’s really just crazy coincidence that after finishing my studies and getting hired by the MUHC, I was offered a position in hematology/oncology a few months in. A real full circle moment. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.    

What is the best advice that someone at the MUHC ever gave you?   

 I think when you’re just getting started, you want to be useful, show that you’re reliable. But I was advised that that’s the quickest way to burn out. Especially in a unit where you treat cancer patients. The work can be heavy. The feelings can be heavy. You really have to take the time away to reset. And you only realize just how important that is over time.     

Tell us about working with your fellow nurses.   

A significant part of why I love this job and why I’ve been able to do it for so long is our Heme (hematology) team!! There are days…man there are days when you feel run over. I don’t know how else to put it. Bone-weary. But then, someone will crack a joke or you’ll commiserate about your frustrations in the break room and somehow, you’re ready to go again. Maybe I’m being naïve or conceited when I say this, but I can’t imagine that kind of support and camaraderie anywhere else. I love this team.    

How do you like to relax and unwind after a shift?   

Dinner/drinks with my friends. Movie nights with my partner or we work on a puzzle. Mainlining Grey’s Anatomy (I can’t give it up!) And I love to read. This sounds like a dating profile! But yeah, simple things.